Packers knock off Cowboys, advance to NFC title game
By Mike Ramczyk
Editor
Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Burlington native Tony Romo did just about everything he could to will his team to victory Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers did a little more, and then some.
Hobbled by a torn left calf muscle, Rodgers engineered two second-half touchdown drives, and the Packers benefitted from a controversial call to win in come-from-behind fashion, 26-21, and advance to their first NFC Championship game since 2010.
Rodgers admitted he was forced to change his playing style.
“The pain in my calf helped me make that decision,” Rodgers said in the post-game press conference regarding altering his play for the injury.
Green Bay, the No. 2 seed, improved to 13-4 overall and will travel to play the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks – the NFC’s No. 1 seed – Sunday at 2 p.m.
Dallas finished the season at 13-5.
Down 21-13 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Rodgers found Davante Adams on a third-and-15 play in the middle of the field. Adams shaked and baked past the Dallas safety and sprinted into the corner of the end zone to cap off a 90-yard scoring drive and cut the Cowboys’ lead to 21-20.
After Dallas was forced to punt, Rodgers struck again. This time, with 9:10 left in the ball game, he scrambled out of the pocket to his left and hit Richard Rodgers with a fastball between two defenders for the 13-yard score. Green Bay now had its first lead since the first quarter at 26-21.
“It looked kind of big when I threw it,” Rodgers said about the hole for the pass – which slipped in between of a pair of Dallas defenders. “And then it kind of got a little smaller as the ball got a little bit closer.”
But Romo wasn’t done. After a 30-yard run by DeMarco Murray put Dallas at midfield, Romo found Dez Bryant on a first-down pass and hit Cole Beasley to set up a pivotal 4th-and-2 at the Green Bay 32.
With around four minutes left on the clock, Romo lobbed a perfect deep ball to Bryant, who beat Sam Shields in man coverage and appeared to catch the ball and set up Dallas at the 1-yard line. Initially called a catch on the field, instant replay determined Bryant didn’t maintain possession of the football throughout the entire process of the catch.
Instead of securing the ball into his body, Bryant extended the ball toward the goal line in an attempt to score. In doing so, the ball hit the ground and popped into the air, thus negating the catch. Dallas went from 1st and goal down by 5 with a couple minutes left to a turnover on downs.
In the press conference after the game, Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy joked “some people probably think throwing a red flag is a lot of fun.
“You have to challenge it,” said McCarthy, who fielded several questions about challenging the call.
He also complimented Bryant on an amazing, athletic play.
“(But) it was a confident challenge – and a hopeful one, too,” McCarthy added.
Green Bay used the remaining four minutes to run out the clock and capped it with the victory formation.
Romo wasn’t making any excuses in his press conference after the game. Though the controversial call reversal ultimately led to the loss, Romo said he doesn’t worry about officials’ calls because he knows he can’t change them.
“The season’s over, that’s the biggest disappointment,” Romo said. “The calls don’t go your way sometimes. I threw the ball where I thought Dez could make a play on the ball, and he did a good job.
“Whenever they go to replay, you always hope for the best,” he added. “Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way.”
It was Romo’s first playoff game in his home state. He was a Packers fan growing up, and he has appreciated all of the local support this past week from his hometown of Burlington.
“I’ve got a special place in my heart for Burlington,” Romo said. “I know it’s tough supporting me in this part of the country. It means a lot.”
Romo finished 15-for-19 with 191 yards and 2 TDs for an impressive 143.6 rating. Murray ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
“To lose in general is disappointing,” Romo added. “I’ve played long enough to understand you don’t always have these kind of teams. When you have the opportunity, you want to take advantage. I feel we let one slip away. We had a football team that had the opportunity to win it all.”
Rodgers went 24-of-35 for 316 and three touchdowns, with most of his damage coming in the second half as he completed his last 10 passes. Eddie Lacy ran for 101 yards on 19 carries, and Adams finished with 117 yards on seven catches.
Randall Cobb caught eight balls for 116 yards, including a diving, game-sealing 12-yard grab on 3rd-and-11 with 1:42 left in the game.
Big year for Frederick
Romo, who graduated from Burlington High School in 1998, had an MVP-type season.
He led the NFL in passer rating and helped spark Dallas to its first postseason appearance since 2009.
Romo couldn’t have done it without Murray, who led the NFL in rushing, and a superior offensive line anchored by center Travis Frederick.
The 6-foot-4, 330-pound Sharon native was an all-state standout at Big Foot High School before graduating in 2009.
Then, Frederick went on to star at the University of Wisconsin, where he became the first true freshman to start on the offensive line in 20 years.
Many pundits thought the Cowboys’ decision to take Frederick in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft was a reach, considering centers aren’t typically drafted that high, but Frederick has proved Dallas right.
In only his second season, Frederick was named to the Pro Bowl and was a runner up for the NFL All-Pro team, which honors the best players at each position.
The Cowboys players didn’t stick around long for interviews, so Frederick wasn’t reached by press time.
Many experts believed the Cowboys’ offensive line was the best in football this year, with three Pro Bowlers.
With Frederick anchoring the middle and Zack Martin and Tyron Smith blocking for an elite talent like Murray and a battle-tested warrior like Romo, don’t be surprised if Dallas eventually reaches the NFL promised land.
News editor Jennifer Eisenbart contributed to this story.
